Kitten Development in the First Six Weeks of Life
The first six weeks in a kitten's life is crucial for its development. They will grow and develop quickly, however they are susceptible to a number of threats. Now outside the womb, a kitten will need warmth, food, and protection from infectious diseases and parasites (such as fleas).
Kittens will probably never grow again at the remarkable rate they accomplish during this period, and seeing the changes in their development from week to week is an incredible experience. Learn about their first week and move on from there.
Week 1: Tiny Food Processing Factories
The newborn kitten weighs just ounces and easily fits into the palm of your hand. Its umbilical cord will fall off within two or three days, but its eyes and ear canals will not be open yet.
Kittens are very helpless at this age, but the mother cat instinctively knows their needs. She feeds them, keeps them close by for warmth, and bathes them with her rough tongue, which also stimulates their digestion and helps them urinate and defecate. Mother cats are very protective of their little ones and will move them to another location if humans intrude too much into the nest.
Provided the mother has been vaccinated or has natural immunity, the kittens will receive this same immunity for the first 24 to 48 hours through her colostrum, and it will last until they are old enough to get their kitten shots.
Newborns will weigh an average of 3.5 ounces at birth and may double their weight by the end of the first week. It's a good idea to weigh them and monitor their weight to ascertain if they are getting adequate nutrition. They are simply little food processing factories at this point, and their only activities are nursing, sleeping, and passing waste. There is very little social interaction at this age, other than competing for their favorite nipple, where they will suckle while kneading with their tiny paws.1
The rule of thumb in regards to the amount to feed young kittens is eight cc of formula per ounce of body weight per day. You will gradually increase the amount of formula for each feeding and decrease the number of feedings. A cubic centimeter (cc) is the same as a milliliter (ml). An ounce equals 30 cc or ml.
Week 2: Growing and Developing
Your kitten is continuing its growth at an astonishing rate, by at least 10 grams per day. The mother cat should be fed a quality canned kitten food to help replenish the nutrients she loses through nursing. Later on, the kittens will be introduced to the same food.
completely open at nine to 14 days old.1 All kittens' eyes are blue and will remain so for several weeks. Their vision will be blurred at first, and their pupils don't dilate and contract readily, so they should be kept from bright lights.
Week 3: Awareness is Developing
Ear canals will be completely open, and their sense of hearing is still developing. However, the kittens may startle at loud sounds. Their ears
